1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to vacuum suction devices and more particularly to a cordless vacuum dustpan which automatically gathers and collects dust and debris swept to it.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has long been the practice in cleaning non-carpeted surfaces by using a broom or a vacuum cleaner. Brooms are typically manipulated to sweep the dirt across the surface of a hard finish or non-carpeted floor to be swept into a shovel-shaped dustpan. This practice has always had the shortcoming of requiring some degree of care and dexterity in the manipulation of the dirt collected, particularly in the collection of light dust particles or animal hairs, which are easily distributed by relatively light air currents, such as those generated by the simple movement of the broom itself. Dustpans have typically been constructed of formed sheet metal or plastic configured with a forwardly opening flat bottom, wide scoop and a rearwardly projecting rigid handle. The manipulation of such device in turn typically requires a considerable degree of bending or stooping on behalf of the operator, an exercise that can be stressful, fatiguing and even painful to those with back problems. Even when such dustpans have been constructed with long handles pivotally carrying the scoop, the operator has still been left with the sometimes challenging task of endeavoring to concurrently manipulate a long handled broom and dustpan assembly in an effort to guide dirt into the scoop to be captured without spillage for balancing thereof in the scoop while being transported to a trash can or compactor. These shortcomings of the broom and conventional dustpan arrangements have led to the design of vacuum cleaners, both of the upright type with a long handle and the horizontal type with long hoses and nozzles. Vacuum cleaning devices which have particular utility for cleaning such floor surfaces of dirt and dust with some degree of ease have certain drawbacks.
Typical vacuum cleaners involve the use of somewhat bulky devices to generate a vacuum and may have an inlet port with a rotary brush and bristles or may incorporate a hose and nozzle to facilitate drawing dirt thereinto from some distance away. Previous considerations of vacuum motor power, overall weight, vacuum suction duct design, and aesthetic appeal necessitated a methodology of "bringing the cleaner to the dirt," or at least close enough to the dirt to be reached by a hose of finite length. This methodology is often tedious and leads to fatigue brought on by over manipulation of the motor and blower housing.
One solution to the fatigue problem involves remote control means. Examples include those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,306,329; 4,369,543; and 4,854,000. These devices allow a user to guide a vacuum device multidirectionally using a handheld remote control. This reduces activity, such as stooping and bending often causing fatigue. However, remote operation of these devices fails to address the related problem of requiring the user to remove the devices from storage each time they are to be used for transport into close proximity with the dirt to be cleaned.
Another effort addressing fatigue during cleaning involves miniaturizing the cleaning device (U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,024 to Steiner, et al). Although beneficial in that the apparatus is easily manipulated, the lightweight nature of the device precludes installation of a powerful motor for efficient collection of relatively large particles. This necessitates direct device manipulation proximate the area to be cleaned, usually involving bending/stooping. Therefore, the inconvenience of guiding a vacuum cleaning device directly over a surface to be cleaned leaves substantial room for improvement in the prior art vacuum cleaner.